


New in Town

by Ellsey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Book Club, Background FitzHunter, F/F, background StaticQuake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellsey/pseuds/Ellsey
Summary: Bobbi Morse is new in town and decides to try the local book club to meet new people. When she meets they mysterious Melinda May though, Bobbi wants to know more.
Relationships: Melinda May/Bobbi Morse
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	New in Town

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the AOS Ships It All event on tumblr, which is focusing on rare pairs for the Agents of Shield fandom. The first day is MayBobbi. I'm also filling the "book club" square of my Marvel Femslash Bingo card.

Bobbi sat down in the coffee shop with her drink and prepared to do some people watching. She had just moved to town for work, and she was still getting her bearings. Not knowing anyone or anything, Bobbi has spent one lonely week in her apartment before she decided enough was enough. She needed to meet some people.

It was a Saturday morning, and people were going in and out with regularity. While watching these people was fun, it wasn’t getting her any closer to her goal of meeting someone. Bobbi decided to go look at the cork board up in a small alcove of the store. It was full of notices: people looking for roommates, people selling furniture, and even a couple missed connections. There was one notice in particular that caught Bobbi’s nothing though. It was for a book club.

The flyer had their latest book listed and the time and date. This sounded like something Bobbi would be very interested in, and there was sure to be people there. Bobbi grabbed a tab with the meeting time on it and set off for the small bookstore she had seen nearby. 

A few days later Bobbi found herself back in the coffee shop, ready to talk about the book. There were a number of people around in small groups already chatting. This wasn’t very encouraging as far as meeting people. In one corner she saw a serious looking woman sitting to herself with an empty chair near her. Perfect.

“Mind if I sit here?” Bobbi asked the woman, who just waved at the seat and continued to sit in silence. 

This might be more difficult that Bobbi had anticipated.

“Hi, I’m new in town.” Bobbi held out a hand to shake. “Bobbi Morse.”

The woman frowned, but shook Bobbi’s hand anyway. “Melinda May.”

“Nice to meet you.” Bobbi waited in silence for a few moments. “This looks like a fun crowd.”

“They seem to enjoy themselves.”

Bobbi nodded. “What about you? Do you enjoy it here?”

Melinda looked at her flatly. “I enjoy the time to myself.”

“Ooookkk,” Bobbi said. “I get the drift. Do you mind if I sit here in silence then?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Bobbi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Once things started up, Bobbi had a good time discussing the book with the rest of the group. Maybe this hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. Melinda however never added anything and quickly left when things were over. Bobbi stayed around for refreshments and chatting with the other book club members. Soon she had invitations for drinks and meet ups at local eateries. 

Bobbi continued to come out to the book club each week, and she continued to be intrigued by Melinda. Why was she there alone? A lot of the other book club members were couples, which was interesting. And Melinda continued to be silent, sitting by herself and just taking it all in then quickly leaving. Bobbi knew she was going to have to get more info.

She approached the small knot of people. “Hey guys, can I ask you a question?”

Daisy was the first person to speak up. “Sure thing Bobbi. How can we help you?”

“What do you all know about Melinda May?”

The group all looked at each other. The British one, Hunter asked, “Why do you want to know?”

Hunter’s boyfriend Fitz elbowed him. “She has a right to ask. May’s pretty intimidating, but she seems to have taken a liking to Bobbi here.”

Bobbi gaped at him. “Are you serious? She seems to have taken a liking to me? She barely speaks to me.”

“Yes, but she hasn’t shooed you away,” Daisy’s husband Lincoln said. “That’s almost like a ringing endorsement from May.”

“Also she hasn’t, like, bitten your head off yet,” Daisy continued. “That’s a pretty good sign.”

Bobbi shook her head in surprise. “OK, I guess, but none of that answers my question. What do you know about her?”

“She’s just May,” Fitz said with a shrug.

“What does that mean?” Bobbi asked.

“To be quite honest, none of us are sure what she does or how she makes a living,” Lincoln said.

“I think she’s some kind of spy,” Hunter offered.

Daisy shook her head. “No way. She’s obviously living off old family money.”

“Why would she live here if she had old family money?” Hunter asked, making a face at Daisy. He continued arguing with her while their better halves both rolled their eyes.

“This could go on for a while,” Lincoln said.

“Look, there’s not much to know about May,” Fitz said. “She doesn’t like coffee. She doesn’t like talking. But she’s really a great person and would do anything to help other people. If she lets you sit by her each week, then she clearly likes you. Just don’t expect much more than that.”

Bobbi had an idea. She thanked her new friends for the information, then left. The next week she showed up and put a cup on the table in front of Melinda.

Melinda raised her eyebrows. “What’s this?”

“It’s tea. I heard you didn’t like coffee, so I thought I’d bring you something.”

Melinda stared at the cup like it might explode. “Why?”

“I just thought that maybe you’d like it. I noticed they served coffee here, and you never drank any so…” Bobbi trailed off.

They sat in silence for a moment before Melinda finally reached out a hand to take the cup. “Thank you.” She didn’t say another word for the rest of the meeting.

Bobbi’s friends invited her out to the bar after book club, so she went and had a good time. Fitz and Hunter played a particularly vicious game of pool, and it turned out Daisy was an especially chattie drinker.

“You like her,” Daisy said.

“Who?” Bobbi asked, confused.

“May!” Daisy slammed her glass down with enough force that some drink sloshed out. “Oops. Anyway, you totally have a crush on her.”

“I do not,” Bobbi said. “I’m just...intrigued by her.”

“Intrigued in a sexy way,” Daisy said, nodding emphatically.

Designated driver Lincokn took his wife’s drink from her. “Why don’t we lay off this for a bit. And by this I mean your drink  _ and  _ Bobbi. She’s allowed to talk to people without wanting to date them.”

“Yes, thank you Lincoln,” Bobbi said. “I’m just interested in her. As a person. I mean I barely know her.”

“You know she’s a beautiful woman that reads books. What else do you need to know?”

“A lot.”

Daisy waved her hand. “I’m telling you it’s all unimportant. You know how much I knew about Lincoln before I decided he’d be mine? His name, his face, and the fact that he looked good in scrubs. That’s all I needed.”

Bobbi laughed. “Is that true?” she asked Lincoln.

He just shrugged. “Probably. She’s impulsive sometimes.”

“That fits,” Bobbi said, nodding her head. “Well I need more than that. Sorry.”

The next week at book club, Bobbi sat in her usual spot to see a muffin there. She looked at Melinda confused.

“Is this yours?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Bobbi stared at it, still confused.

Melinda gave a small sigh. “You said you enjoy blueberry muffins, and they happened to have some today at the bakery. I thought you would like it.”

Bobbi shook herself from her trance. “Yes, I absolutely love it. Thank you Melinda.”

From that week on they began to spend more time talking to each other. Bobbi had to admit Daisy was right. Bobbi was interested in Melinda and talking to her more seemed to emphasize this. Bobbi decided to pull a page from Daisy’s book and be a little impulsive.

“Melinda, would you like to go to the bar with us tonight after book club? It might be fun.”

Bobbi fully expected to be turned down, so it was a bit of a shock when Melinda said, “Sure.”

Bobbi quickly texted Daisy to let her know, and she saw Daisy across the room elbowing her husband then giving a very non-discrete thumbs up Bobbi’s way.

At the bar, Melinda joined Hunter and Fitz in playing pool. It turned out Melinda was a bit of a shark. Hunter laughed hysterically while this evening’s designated driver, Fitz, complained that this would be a lot more fun if he was drinking. Melinda actually smiled at that.

That night the bar had a band, which apparently also meant dancing. Bobbi’s friends pulled her out on the floor more than once, and Bobbi had enough drinks to let loose and bounce to the music. 

A slower song came on, and Bobbi decided to just go for broke and ask Melinda to dance. Melinda surprised her once again by saying yes. Bobbi led Melinda by the hand out to the dance floor, then held her at a polite distance away.

“May I ask you something?” Melinda asked after a few quiet seconds.

“Sure.”

“Why do you keep trying with me?”

Bobbi looked down at her. “What do you mean?”

“I think we both know I’ve tried to freeze you out. So why do you keep trying to befriend me?”

“I don’t know,” Bobbi said. “I’m intrigued by you. And I think we’d get along well.”

“Based on what?” Melinda was almost smiling.

Bobbi shrugged. “You’re pretty, you’re interesting, and you’re a little bit mysterious. All of which I find intriguing.”

“So are you ever going to do anything about it?”

“Umm, I,” Bobbi sputtered. She looked down at Melinda and got some courage. “You know what? Yes. Melinda May, would you like to go out to dinner with me?”

Melinda moved closer and laid her head on Bobbi. “I thought you’d never ask.”


End file.
